Characters
Jade wrote a few notes to her brother. In those notes, she describes her team members and how the investigation started. The notes were attached to her Auto Vigilante Compendium, a comprehensive document only members of the Auto Vigilante Guild (AVG) receive. The compendium was left to Groove. Main Characters ;Groove Champion (played by "Everett Mann", voiced by Andrew Heckler) : He is the protagonist of Interstate '76 and the middle child of the Champion family. His father was a four-time winner at Daytona. Those skills were past down on to him and Jade, but his sister was always the better qualifer at the track. Groove is contacted by Taurus, Jade's partner, when she is murdered. He reads his sister's notes, in which she urges him to go to Texas to find out what's going down there. When asked to take his sister's place, he is reluctant at first, but ultimately agrees. In automotive combat, he is a rookie, but his racing skills earn him the CB handle of "Swinger". He inherits his sister's '71 Picard Piranha at the start of the main quest. ;Taurus ("James W. Styles", voiced by Greg Eagles) :Ac cording to Jade's notes, Taurus isn't his real name. It's what he's called by people around him. He lived as a poet in New England. Even published some material. His wife and daughter were killed by criminals. The desert is where he went to get his live together again. He never left. Jade rescued him once, and they became partners. They were investigating the movement of a group of auto-villains when she died. Jade's brother takes the wheel of her car and hits the road as Taurus' new partner. Taurus shows Groove what it's like to be an auto-vigilante, and acts as his mentor during the main quest. His poetry can be heard on the CB (by pressing the 'C' key) whilst on the road. He goes by the handle "Stampede" and drives a '66 Jefferson Sovereign he likes to call Eloise. Movies are not his thing. : ;Jade Champion ("Katherine Knolls", voiced by Lisa Picotte) :For s ome time, Jade lived a secret life as an auto-vigilante. Her family never knew her driving skills were also put the test outside the racetrack, probably for their own good. Her looks can be deceiving, as many find out who cross her path. One day, while leaving a race track in Texas, she spots a large group of auto-villains. The local police does not interfere, as if they know something she does not. She goes after them and stumbles upon something big. The game begins with Groove taking up her cause, hitting the road in her Piranha. Jade's handle was "Vixen." She has a younger sister named Skye. : ; ; ;Skeeter ("Willard Dicot III", voiced by Tom Kane) :Skeeter i s the team's mechanic. Jade thinks Skeeter doesn't have any relatives and that he's probably been used by everybody in his life. She also thinks it's likely that he's wanted by the police for crimes he's unaware he committed. After having worked in one of his father's teams of mechanics, he ends up with Jade. It strikes her that sometimes he can see things much clearer than others, as if he has some hidden talent. Skeeter teams up with Taurus and Groove in his '71 GrooVan. He performs maintenance, collects salvaged parts from the field, installs upgrades, and repairs the player's vehicle between missions. He goes by the handle "Monkeywrench." Occasionally, he suffers from narcolepsy, a sleep disorder, making his driving a potential recipe for disaster. : ; ; ;Antonio Malochio ("Carlo DeFungi", voiced by John de Lancie) : Tony Malochio is the antagonist of Interstate '76. He is a businessman and a Vietnam veteran. With three tours under his belt, it seems he liked it over there. Malochio was involved with some shady activities deep in the jungle of Cambodia. It is believed he had ties with Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge. After the war, he returned to his company, a furniture importer/exporter. It is used as a coverup for something else. Taurus found out he came into contact with some "businessmen" from the Middle East who provide him with "financing." He has recruted every automotive gun for hire in the "South West" to serve in his private army. Jade thinks something big is about to happen and that the police won't be of any help to stop it. She tracks him down to investigate this. Malochio's codename is "Giotto" and he drives a '73 Courcheval Manta. Two black dice with red pips are his trademark. Minor Characters *'Disco Cat': This cat is one of the higher ranking creeper's in Malochio's organisation of auto-vigilantes. Disco Cat is first heard over the CB in the cut scene before the third mission telling Playboy to stay at the Bar D. In the fifth mission, he orders Ballrog to attack Skeeter in the van. He's also one of the creepers chasing down Groove. Finally, in Scene 12, Groove faces him one-on-one. Disco Cat also makes an appearance in Nitro Riders. *'Playboy': Makes his first appearance before the third mission talking to Disco Cat over the CB. *'Cloaker': Mentioned by Disco Cat right before the third mission. It is likely that he also ranks high in Malochio's army. He's later radioed in by Malochio in the final showdown. *'Patriot': Some creeper that Jade waxed years ago. Groove has a dream in which Patriot sees him driving Jade's car, and challenges him to a race, believing it's Jade. He rides with a creeper named Road Knight and one by the name of Gas Bandit. His car is a ABX AMZ which is sprayed in the colors red, white, and blue. *'Road Knight': One of Patriot's buddies Groove races in a dream. He drives a Vikea International 420GL Wagon, painted in the color Gold. *'Gas Bandit': Races Groove along with Patriot and Road Knight. He drives a orange/white Phaedra Palomino. *